This article features the 2003 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament qualifying stage. Caribbean and Central American teams entered in separate tournaments. The North American teams Canada and Mexico automatically qualified, as well as main tournament hosts Panama (Central America) and the United States (North America). Eighteen Caribbean teams entered, of which two qualified and five Central American teams entered, of which two qualified.

1.
Panama
–
Panama, officially called the Republic of Panama, is a country usually considered to be entirely in North America or Central America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, the capital and largest city is Panama City, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly half of the countrys 4.1 million people. Panama was inhabited by indigenous tribes prior to settlement by the Spanish in the 16th century. Panama broke away from Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, when Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada remained joined, eventually becoming the Republic of Colombia. With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, in 1977 an agreement was signed for the total transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama by the end of the 20th century, which culminated on 31 December 1999. Revenue from canal tolls continues to represent a significant portion of Panamas GDP, although commerce, banking, in 2015 Panama ranked 60th in the world in terms of the Human Development Index. Since 2010, Panama remains the second most competitive economy in Latin America, covering around 40 percent of its land area, Panamas jungles are home to an abundance of tropical plants and animals – some of them to be found nowhere else on the planet. There are several theories about the origin of the name Panama, some believe that the country was named after a commonly found species of tree. Others believe that the first settlers arrived in Panama in August, when butterflies abound, the best-known version is that a fishing village and its nearby beach bore the name Panamá, which meant an abundance of fish. Captain Antonio Tello de Guzmán, while exploring the Pacific side in 1515, in 1517 Don Gaspar De Espinosa, a Spanish lieutenant, decided to settle a post there. In 1519 Pedrarias Dávila decided to establish the Empires Pacific city in this site, the new settlement replaced Santa María La Antigua del Darién, which had lost its function within the Crowns global plan after the beginning of the Spanish exploitation of the riches in the Pacific. Blending all of the above together, Panamanians believe in general that the word Panama means abundance of fish and this is the official definition given in social studies textbooks approved by the Ministry of Education in Panama. However, others believe the word Panama comes from the Kuna word bannaba which means distant or far away, at the time of the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, the known inhabitants of Panama included the Cuevas and the Coclé tribes. These people have disappeared, as they had no immunity from European infectious diseases. The earliest discovered artifacts of indigenous peoples in Panama include Paleo-Indian projectile points, later central Panama was home to some of the first pottery-making in the Americas, for example the cultures at Monagrillo, which date back to 2500–1700 BC. These evolved into significant populations best known through their spectacular burials at the Monagrillo archaeological site, the monumental monolithic sculptures at the Barriles site are also important traces of these ancient isthmian cultures. Before Europeans arrived Panama was widely settled by Chibchan, Chocoan, the largest group were the Cueva. The size of the population of the isthmus at the time of European colonization is uncertain

2.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci

3.
Suriname
–
Suriname, officially known as the Republic of Suriname, is a sovereign state on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, at just under 165,000 square kilometers, it is the smallest country in South America. Suriname has a population of approximately 566,000, most of live on the countrys north coast, in and around the capital and largest city. Long inhabited by cultures of indigenous tribes, Suriname was explored and contested by European powers before coming under Dutch rule in the late 17th century. In 1954, the country one of the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its indigenous peoples have been active in claiming land rights and working to preserve their traditional lands. Suriname is considered to be a culturally Caribbean country, and is a member of the Caribbean Community, while Dutch is the official language of government, business, media, and education, Sranan, an English-based creole language, is a widely used lingua franca. Suriname is the territory outside Europe where Dutch is spoken by a majority of the population. The people of Suriname are among the most diverse in the world, spanning a multitude of ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups. This area was occupied by cultures of indigenous peoples long before European contact, remnants of which can be found in petroglyph sites at Werehpai. The name Suriname may derive from a Taino indigenous people called Surinen, British settlers, who founded the first European colony at Marshalls Creek along the Suriname River, spelled the name as Surinam. When the territory was taken over by the Dutch, it part of a group of colonies known as Dutch Guiana. The official spelling of the countrys English name was changed from Surinam to Suriname in January 1978, a notable example is Surinames national airline, Surinam Airways. The older English name is reflected in the English pronunciation, /ˈsʊrᵻnæm/ or /ˈsʊrᵻnɑːm/, in Dutch, the official language of Suriname, the pronunciation is, with the main stress on the third syllable and a schwa terminal vowel. Indigenous settlement of Suriname dates back to 3,000 BC, the largest tribes were the Arawak, a nomadic coastal tribe that lived from hunting and fishing. They were the first inhabitants in the area, the Carib also settled in the area and conquered the Arawak by using their superior sailing ships. They settled in Galibi at the mouth of the Marowijne River, while the larger Arawak and Carib tribes lived along the coast and savanna, smaller groups of indigenous peoples lived in the inland rainforest, such as the Akurio, Trió, Warrau, and Wayana. Beginning in the 16th century, French, Spanish, and English explorers visited the area, a century later, Dutch and English settlers established plantation colonies along the many rivers in the fertile Guiana plains

4.
Saint Kitts and Nevis
–
The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, also known as the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is a two-island country in the West Indies. Located in the Leeward Islands chain of the Lesser Antilles, it is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas and Western Hemisphere, the country is a Commonwealth realm, with the British monarch as head of state. The capital city is Basseterre on the island of Saint Kitts. The smaller island of Nevis lies about 2 miles southeast of Saint Kitts across a channel called The Narrows. The British dependency of Anguilla was historically also a part of this union, to the north-northwest lie the islands of Sint Eustatius, and Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten and Anguilla. To the east and northeast are Antigua and Barbuda, and to the southeast is the uninhabited island of Redonda, and the island of Montserrat. Saint Kitts and Nevis were among the first islands in the Caribbean to be settled by Europeans, Saint Kitts was home to the first British and French colonies in the Caribbean, and thus has also been titled The Mother Colony of the West Indies. Nevis is also the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton, Saint Kitts was named Liamuiga, which roughly translates as fertile land, by the Kalinago Indians who originally inhabited the island. The name is preserved via St. Kittss western peak, Mount Liamuiga, neviss pre-Columbian name was Oualie, meaning land of beautiful waters. Christopher Columbus upon sighting what we now call Nevis in 1493 gave that island the name San Martín, the current name Nevis is derived from a Spanish name Nuestra Señora de las Nieves. This Spanish name means Our Lady of the Snows and it is not known who chose this name for the island, but it is a reference to the story of a fourth-century Catholic miracle, a summertime snowfall on the Esquiline Hill in Rome. Perhaps the white clouds which usually wreathe the top of Nevis Peak reminded someone of the story of a snowfall in a hot climate. The island of Nevis upon first British settlement was referred to as Dulcina, eventually the original Spanish name was restored and used in the shortened form, Nevis. There is some disagreement over the name which Christopher Columbus gave to St. Kitts, for many years it was thought that he named the island San Cristóbal, after Saint Christopher, his patron saint and the patron hallow of travellers. New studies suggest that Columbus named the island Sant Yago, the name San Cristóbal was given by Columbus to the island now known as Saba,20 miles northwest. It seems that San Cristóbal came to be applied to the island of St. Kitts only as the result of a mapping error, no matter the origin of the name, the island was well documented as San Cristóbal by the 17th century. The first English colonists kept the English translation of this name, in the 17th century, a common nickname for Christopher was Kit, or Kitt. This is why the island was often referred to as Saint Kitts Island

5.
Central American Football Union
–
Its member associations are part of CONCACAF. The UNCAF organize various competitions, the Central American Cup is played two years, starting in 1991, and usually feature the seven national teams. Costa Rica is the most successful team, winning the tournament eight times, honduras have won the tournament four times. Guatemala won the tournament in 2001, and Panama won it in 2009 and this tournament usually runs as a qualification round for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The UNCAF also ran the Copa Interclubes UNCAF, a competition for the champions and runners-up of the leagues of the UNCAF members. Similarly to the Central American Cup, this competition qualified three teams to the CONCACAF Champions Cup, as it expanded into the CONCACAF Champions League in 2008, all of the Central American nations have at least one team and the Copa Interclubes UNCAF was disbanded. Copa Centroamericana – International cup for Central America, top 4–5 qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Copa Interclubes UNCAF – Was a club championship for Central America in which the top 3 teams qualified for CONCACAF Champions Cup. UNCAF Womens Club Championship – First edition held in 2016, CONCACAF Caribbean Football Union North American Football Union North American Football Confederation Confederación Centroamericana y del Caribe de Fútbol UNCAF official website

6.
Caribbean Football Union
–
The Caribbean Football Union, often referred to by its initials CFU, is the nominal governing body for association football in the Caribbean as well as Bermuda, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. It represents 25 FIFA member nations, as well as 6 territories that are not affiliated to FIFA, the Union was established in January 1978 and its Member Associations compete in the CONCACAF region. CFU also runs the CFU Club Championship, a competition to determine the Caribbean club representatives to the CONCACAF Champions League, CFU president Jack Warner was to be investigated by FIFA, but upon his resignation the investigation was terminated. The resignation resulted in several of the most influential members of the CFU being suspended from football, saint-Barthélemy became an overseas collectivity of France in February 2007, the same political status as Saint-Martin. Following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, the bodies of Saba. Bonaire, which also has this status, became a CFU member in April 2013. Each of these areas is an part of the Netherlands. The Caribbean Football Union holds two cups, The CFU Championship was a tournament for teams in the region active between 1978 and 1988. It was sometimes referred to as the CFU Nations Cup, the Caribbean Cup is the current international cup for the Caribbean, the top 4 teams in the tournament qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The CFU Club Championship is the championship for Caribbean club teams, the winner qualified for the CONCACAF Champions Cup from 1997 and until 2008. Since 2008-09, the top 3 clubs qualify for a round of the CONCACAF Champions League. Previously the CFU had organised a league, the Caribbean Professional Football League. A Caribbean national team has played several exhibition fixtures, in 1987 a Caribbean XI entertained Brazilian São Paulo FC and a year later a Caribbean Selection played against the national team of Trinidad and Tobago. Since the formation of the CFU, games have taken place in Port-of-Spain. In August 1993, CFU President Jack Warner ruled out the possibility of merging the Caribbean nations into one football team. He said, There seems to be some myth outside there that a Caribbean team is the answer to football in the region. I have never heard anything so ludicrous, said Warner, If to reach a World Cup have to be considered by size, the simple fact is, we must take whatever seems to be our liabilities and make them our assets. Being small is never a liability in this sport, the formation of the Caribbean Football Union is credited to former Trinidad and Tobago national footballer Patrick Raymond

7.
Aruba national under-20 football team
–
During the 1st round of qualification they were placed in group 4 along with Grenada, and Dominica. Aruba defeated both team with 1-0 win to qualify to the final round, during the final round they were placed in group B along with Haiti, Dominican Republic and Saint Kitts and Nevis. They would beat the Dominican Republic and Saint Kitts and Nevis both with 2-1 win, unfortunately lose to Haiti with 2-1 defeat and they would get second in the group and face off against Cuba which they lost 2-1. Their goalkeeper Jean Marc Antersijn, would win the Golden Glove and this would be their first time competing in the CONCACAF Championship. They were later placed in group A along with host Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, United States, on Aruba debut in the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship the team would find it difficult to win a single game in the tournament. The team would go on to lose 4 out of the 5 games, the following players were called up by manager Arent Bekhof to compete in the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship in group A. Aruba U20 Team, Official website at the FIFA website

8.
Guyana national football team
–
The Guyana national football team, nicknamed the Golden Jaguars, is the national team of Guyana and is controlled by the Guyana Football Federation. It is one of three South American nations to be a member of the Caribbean Football Union of CONCACAF alongside Suriname, until the independence of Guyana in 1966, it competed as British Guiana. They qualified for the Caribbean Nations Cup in 1991, coming fourth, Guyana has never qualified for the CONCACAF Gold Cup or the FIFA World Cup. Guyana played its first international match on 21 July 1905. Their next recorded game came almost 16 years later on 28 January 1921, the two played again in Suriname on 27 August 1923, and on that occasion the hosts won 2–1. British Guiana did not play another match until 1937, when they lost two matches against Trinidad and Tobago in Surinam, 3–0 and 3–2, after seven years without a match, British Guiana entered a three-team tournament in Trinidad & Tobago against its national side and Barbados. They won twice against Barbados before drawing 1–1 and losing 3–0 to Trinidad, in the final of this Trinagular tournament they again lost 3–0 to Trinidad and Tobago. In November 1947 British Guiana played in a Standard Life tournament in Trinidad and they beat the hosts 2–1 in their opening game on 5 November before beating Jamaica 2–0 the very next day. On 10 November they drew 0–0 with Jamaica before losing 2–0 to Trinidad, British Guiana played its first home games in 1950 against Trinidad and Tobago, these were British Guianas first matches since the Standard Life tournament. British Guiana lost 1–0 and 4–1 before winning 1–0, the last match played under the name British Guiana was the next match on 2 March 1959 – a 2–2 draw against Trinidad and Tobago. After independence in 1966, Guyana did not play a match for five years and their first fixtures under their new name were qualifiers for the 1971 CONCACAF Championship against Suriname. The first match, away, was lost 4–1 and the match on 21 September 1971 was lost 3–2 as Suriname advanced 7–3 on aggregate. In 1976 Guyana entered its first ever World Cup qualification campaign with the aim of reaching the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina. Guyana and Suriname were drawn in a preliminary in the Caribbean section of CONCACAF qualification. The second leg in Paramaribo was lost 3–0 which allowed Suriname to advance, as a consequence, the team rose to the top 12 in CONCACAF and were in the third rank of seeds in the World Cup qualifying draw. Had Guyana reached the semi-finals, they would have qualified for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, yet Guyana managed to top the group and qualify for the CONCACAF semi-finals of World Cup qualifying for the first time in their history. This saw them drawn with Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador, and their first group game was against Mexico at the famous Azteca Arena, from November 2012 to October 2014 Guyana failed to play a single game of International football due to off-field problems